by Kelly Moore
“I did call. You didn’t answer.” She lightly slaps my cheek as she strolls by me.
“I’ll bake you some of those strawberry muffins you like so much.”
She is persistent. “I can take care of myself, Margret.” I lean on my cane as I walk her to the door.
“That’s yet to be seen. Why don’t you start with a shave and a haircut.” She moves close to me, taking a sniff. “Better yet, a shower.”
“Bye, Margret,” I say, ready to shove her out the door.
“Tomorrow,” she says sweetly, sashaying out.
Shutting the door behind her, I press my back against it. “Damn woman. She deserves a better man than me.” I grip my cane in my hand and then throw it across the room, letting out a roar. “Shit!” I clutch my thigh as pain burns like fire all the way down to my foot. Limping over to my cell phone, I call our horse vet. “Hey man, those pills you gave me aren’t strong enough. I need something else.” He hems and haws for a few minutes but finally agrees to try another pain medication. He gives me a lecture about how addictive they can be if not used properly, and he could lose his license if he got caught giving them to me.
“No one is going to find out,” I assure him.
Hobbling over to my cane, I pick it up. “Margret’s right. I need a shower.” I strip and get under the spray of the water. I quickly wash off the stench and dry off. After I’m dressed, I brush out my hair and comb my beard. “I’ll shave later,” I tell myself in the mirror. I have to decide who I’ll go see first. Boone or Clem? My sister wins out.
I’m out the door and reaching for the bar to pull myself up in my truck. My leg throbs as I push on the gas pedal. I stop at the barn first, where the vet said he’d be performing his annual checkup on Moonshine. I honk the horn, and he comes to the truck. He peers around before he hands me a bottle.
“Thanks. I’m sure these will work.”
“Remember what I told you. Only take one every six hours.”
“Will do.” I head to Clem’s house. I pour out two pills into the palm of my hand, tossing them in my mouth and swallowing them dry.
Clutching the side of my door, I stumble out of the truck with my cane ready to help me walk.
“Clem!” I beat on her door. Now I sound like Margret. “Open the damn door!” I yell.
I jiggle the doorknob, and it’s locked. Limping around her house, I check one of the windows in the living room. It moves when I press up on it. I lift it all the way up and push the screen out. I hike my good leg inside and crunch down, fitting my tall body in the frame. Placing my hand under my thigh, I drag my other leg inside. My cane falls to the ground. “Shit,” I mutter. I can’t reach it without climbing back out. I decide to walk without it, using the furniture to assist me.
“Clem! I know you’re in here!” I hear a small whimper coming from her bedroom. “Clem,” I say softer this time stepping into her room
“Go away, Wyatt!” she sniffs.
“Why are you in bed this time of day?” I sit on the edge next to her.
“Because.”
“You sound like you’re two. Because isn’t a reason.”
“I don’t want to see anyone.”
“That makes two of us,” I huff.
She sits up. “Then, why are you here?”
“Some crazy blonde wouldn’t leave me alone. Margret told me you’ve been holed up in your house.”
“She’s been leaving me messages for days.”
“Me too.”
Her head falls on my shoulder. “I miss him.”
“You’re the one that kicked him out.”
She raises her head, and the tears in her eyes are replaced with fire. “I warned him if he killed Watkins, we were through.”
“You don’t know that he did.”
“He all but admitted it.” She wipes her nose with the bedsheet.
“Lord help me, I agree with Margret. If Boone did kill him, he had just cause.”
“I don’t care what his reason was, and how could you of all people, being a law-abiding man say that?”
“I, like you, don’t have a lot of gray areas when it comes to the law, but I know Boone is a good man.”
“Good men don’t go around killing people. They let the authorities handle it.”
“Your husband is loyal to our father, and you know it.”
“Well, his loyalty destroyed our marriage.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. He’d come running back to you in a minute. You know he’s staying at the Magnolia.”
“At Margret’s? Traitor!”
“You can’t be angry at her. You kicked him out. Besides, she’s been trying to reach you to tell you.”
“You’re siding with the enemy?” Her eyebrows raise.
“She isn’t the enemy, and you know it.”
“Are you sweet on her?”
“No. We used to be friends. Right now, she’s a pain in my ass.”
“I could say the same for you.” She lies down, covering her head with the pillow.
I yank it off of her. “No more hiding. You made your decision, and now you have to live with it. You can’t quit living.”
She rolls over to look at me. “You have.”
“That’s different. I’m not the same man I was a few months ago.”
“You are the same at heart. You’re just a little broken.”
“Since neither one of us wants to speak to our father, let's make a deal.”
“What sorta deal?”
“We have to find a way to handle what we’ve been dealt. We can encourage one another. We both have to agree to get out of the house to work. We don’t have to tell anyone. I’ll meet you for lunch on Wednesdays, in town. No more of either one of us moping around feeling sorry for ourselves.”
“I guess I can try.”
“Sure you can, you’re Clem Calhoun. One of the toughest women I know.”
“You really think so?” She looks surprised.
“I do.”
“And all this time, I didn’t think you liked me.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Nobody said I liked you. It’s self-preservation,” I tease.
I get up, and she scoots to the edge of the bed. “I’m glad you forced your way inside.”
“You might not be when you see your broken screen.” I chuckle. I limp out of her room.
“You still in a lot of pain?” she asks.
“Some days are better than others.”
“The offer still stands. I have a few tricks I learned in the service.”
“I’ve got it under control. You focus on getting out of here.”
“Starting tomorrow.” She hugs me.
“I’ll be checking on you.”
“Thanks for the kick in the ass, Wyatt.”
“Anytime.
About the Author
"This author has the magical ability to take an already strong and interesting plot and add so many unexpected twists and turns that it turns her books into a complete addiction for the reader." Dandelion Inspired Blog
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Armed with books in the crook of my elbow, I can go anywhere. That’s my philosophy! Better yet, I’ll write the books that will take me on an adventure.
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My heroes are a bit broken but will make you swoon. My heroines are their own kick-ass characters armed with humor and a plethora of sarcasm.
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If I’m not tucked away in my writing den, with coffee firmly gripped in hand, you can find me with a book propped on my pillow, a pit bull lying across my legs, a Lab on the floor next to me, and two kittens running amuck.
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My current adventure has me living in Idaho with my own gray-bearded hero, who’s put up with my shenanigans for over thirty years, and he doesn’t mind all my book boyfriends.
If you love romance, suspense, military men, lots of action and adventure infused with emotion, tear-worthy moments, and laugh-out-loud humor, dive into my
books and let the world fall away at your feet.
Also by Kelly Moore
Whiskey River Road Series
Coming Home, Book 1. Coming Soon on Audiobook
Stolen Hearts, Book 2 Coming Soon on Audiobook
Three Words, Book 3
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The Broken Pieces Series in order
Broken Pieces
Pieced Together
Piece by Piece
Pieces of Gray
Syn’s Broken Journey
Broken Pieces Box set Books 1-3
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August Series in Order
Next August
This August
Seeing Sam
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The DC Series - Formerly the Brooklyn Series
Deadly Cures
Dangerous Captive
Daring Capture
Available in audiobook format
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Epic Love Stories Series can be read in any order
Say You Won’t Let Go. Coming Soon on Audiobook
Fading Into Nothing Audiobook version
Life Goes On. Audiobook version
Gypsy Audiobook version
Jameson Audiobook version
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Imperfect
Blind Revenge
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Fated Lives Series
Rebel’s Retribution Books 1-4. Available on Audiobook
Theo’s Retaliation Books 5-7. Available on Audiobook
Thorn’s Redemption Books 8-10. Coming Soon Audiobook
Fallon’s Revenge Book 11 Coming Soon Audiobook
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The Crazy Rich Davenports Season One in order of reading
The Davenports
Lucy
Yaya
Ford
Gemma
Daisy
The Wedding
Halloween Party
Bang Bang
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Coffee Tea or Me